Notting Hill Flashcards
what was the rent act of 1957
- landlords could charge higher prices
- divide larger homes into smaller apartments
- removed controls on rent
what were HMOs
- houses of multiple occupation
who was peter rachman
- a polish immigrant who became incredibly skilled at finding loopholes in the rent act
what did rachman do to force previous tenants out of his properties
- hiring local thugs to intimidate them with threats of violence
- encouraging tenants in adjoining flats to play loud music
- moving prostitutes into the building
- having family pets killed to send tenants a message
why did rachman allow caribbean migrants to live
- despite his greed, he wanted to present himself as an immigrants helping other immigrants
- caribbean migrants were desperate for accommodation and would pay any price rachman set out
what were shebeens
- illegal places where migrants could purchase alcohol as well as dance, smoke and sometimes gamble
what was the ‘piss house’
- a pub that happily served caribbean and irish migrants
name two fascist organisations
- union movement
- league of empire loyalists
what did these organisations do
- distributed leaflets urging the white residents to protect their jobs and to stop coloured invasion
what began the notting hill riots of 1958
- a white woman and her black husband were arguing
- passer bys threw slurs at the pair
- a small fight broke out between the white and black people
recall the key events of the notting hill riots
- seymour manning, a young caribbean student, is confronted by a large group of white men
- manning ran back towards the station he came from and was able to escape to a local greengrocers
- the owner protected manning whilst a mob of nearly 200 were heard shouting ‘lynch him’
how many people were arrested and charged as a result of the riots
- 140 people were arrested
- 108 were charged
- 2/3 of those charged were white people
what was the aftermath of the riots
- court dealt with the cases and gave out fines and prison sentences
- nine youths, part of the teddy boys, were charged with wounding and actual bodily harm on a number of black men
- they were given four years of imprisonment
who was claudia jones
- a leading figure among the caribbean migrants
- launched the west indian gazette
what did claudia jones do as a result of the hostility during the riots
- launched a caribbean carnival committee in november 1958 to organise a cultural event that would show positive caribbean contribution
when and where was the first caribbean carnival
- january 1959
- st pancras town hall
what happened to kelso cochrane
- he was attacked by a group of young white men in 1959
- killed by a stab wound to his chest
- no one was ever charged with his murder
what was the community response to cochranes murder
- african and caribbean activists presented an open letter of protest to the prime minister
- organised a burial committee to raise funds for his funeral
why was cochranes funeral so important
- over a thousand people turned out on the streets of notting hill
- number of african and caribbean politicians attended
what was the purpose of the west indian gazette
- aimed to publish national and global news for caribbean people
- published news from the caribbean and also publicised black cultural developments
what was counterculture and when did it begin to gain popularity
- in the period of the 1960s
- young adults became more politically motivated and active
- young people became rebellious, expressing it in their dress, music, sexual behaviour and use of recreational drugs
who was rhaune laslett and what did she do
- she worked in social care and moved to notting hill, setting up a children’s playgroup
- she joined other people to establish the london free school
what was the london free school
- a project that was a part of counterculture
- older people with skills in fields like photography, film and music, to tutor young people
what was the notting hill street festival
- a small street event for children
- set up by rhaune laslett in 1965
- became an annual celebration
who was michael de freitas
- a mixed heritage individual
- became involved in organising small-scale prostitution and robbery before the notting hill riots
- caught the attention of rachman and became an enforcer
- his mother handled a brothel
what did michael de freitas do in 1965
- met african-american activist, malcolm x, and became michael x
- converted to islam
- took a greater interest in political activities, joined guyanese activists to set up a new black political organisation
- called the racial adjustment action society (RAAS)
how did notting hill begin to improve
- notting hill methodist church was transformed in 1960
- began to organise local community groups
- reverend bruce kenrick energises the mission to improve housing
what was the notting hill housing trust (NHHT)
- aimed to buy up property, renovate it and rent it at a fair price
what was the impact of the NHHT
- within five years, became a major presence, housing nearly 1000 people
when was the black eagles set up and what did they do
- set up in 1968 by darcus howe as a protest group
- a programme of street patrols observing the police to try to protect black people from harassment
who was frank crichlow
- a trinidadian immigrant
- opened the rio cafe in 1959
- became a focal point for the counterculture and community activism
when did the mangrove open and why
- police and media paid unwelcome attention to the cafe
- crichlow was prosecuted several times for minor offences
- police harassment prompted the rio cafe to shut down in 1968
- crichlow opened a new restaurant called the mangrove
why did the police still have bad relations with crichlow
- notting hill police believed the mangrove was a den of evil which was frequented by pimps, prostitutes, and criminals
- there were several raids and there was nothing illegal found
what and when was the mangrove protest
- in 1970
- community leaders staged a protest march in august in retaliation of the police treatment of the mangrove
who were the mangrove nine
- violence broke out near the end of the protest and 19 people were arrested
- of the 19, 9 were accused of serious offences
recall the key events of the trial of the mangrove nine
- the trial began with a demand for an all-black jury, and it was refused
- the nine then used their right to reject over 60 of the potential jurers
- a number of witnesses spoke for the good character of crichlow and the positive atmosphere of the mangrove
- the jury decided in favour of the defendants and the mangrove nine were found not guilty of inciting a riot
why was the trial so significant
- the judge stated that the events had shown evidence of racial hatred
- it was the first time anyone of authority in britain had admitted that there was a problem of racism in the police force
- the police continued to raid the mangrove, but in 1988 the metropolitan police were ordered to pay crichlow £50,000 in damages for false imprisonment, battery and malicious prosecution
